Best way to remove titanium anodizing?

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See Posts 13 & 15 and please know what you are doing before putting your health at risk. If you are unsure, ask Chip or people who work with these chemicals routinely.


i have some folders with blue anodizing on titanium parts.

i don't like the look and wish to remove the all the blue accents.

in some cases it's in grooves of the scale (like on the William Henry B-series FT knives)...

or on the thumbstud (like my Sebbie)...

and i don't just want to bead-blast the whole knife/blade to get it off.

i just want to buff it out of the blue areas.

any suggestions?
 
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bead blasting might be your only option in grooves unless you use abrasive cloth. you can mask off the areas you dont want bead blasted.
 
yeah, i could....

but i haven't wanted to bead-blast them because of the difference in metal finish/look.

i'd be willing to use some elbow grease and buff them off. i could then polish each piece to mate the surrounding areas. i guess i was just hoping for some suggestions for type of polishing material (buffing compounds, abrasive cloth, a particular type of sandpaper, etc)...
 
I would think there is some way to chemically remove the finish-but I don't know what it would be. I don't use titanium in my work.
 
Bead blasting is certainly the easiest way to get into places you can't reach by hand or using a dremmel and super fine drum. The metal finish difference after blasting can be sanding off also but personally anodizing would probably be easier to remove.

It really depends on how the anodizing was put on. If it was done by electricity it should be something some 400 grit emery cloth followed by 600 grit used either wet or dry in conjunction with a block of wood you can hold to use to wrap the sand paper over can probably remove all that in the easy to get areas. You may need a dremmel and some fine discs and sanding drums to get into areas you can not reach by hand. I'd also suggest you use some sort of a jig by screwing a smooth bar or round rod or something down to a table to use it as a guide for your pinky finger to wrap around while holding the block of wood. This way you can keep your lines straight. I'd also just sand one way.

If the anodizing was put on by heat you may be in store for a lot of sanding/grinding and actually heat anodizing is harder to remove by bead blasting also. The difference appears to be that when you anodize using electricity it anodizes from the top covering just the top and not really going inside deeper. When you anodize by heat it anodizes from the inside up to the top or basically anodizes deeper in the material and this can make it harder to remove because its still there even after you make a swipe with the blaster or sand over it. It can come off eventually but it does take a lot more work usually. Heat anodizes usually is not as uniform looking in shade and color so its easy to tell most of the time which you have before you. Good luck with your project.

STR
 
I have had good results using flitz by hand.
 
great info guys!!!!

i'll start with careful handwork using flitz and work my way up thru each additionally aggressive method suggested.

i'll start with the back of the pocket clip so if i do any damage, it will be minimal at worse.

Blade Forum was made for questions like this. it because of folks like yourselves are willing to jump in and help a stranger.

thnx everyone!
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I would think there is some way to chemically remove the finish-but I don't know what it would be. I don't use titanium in my work.
Click to expand...

There is, but you cannot use it at home.

A mix of nitric and hydrofluoric acids will etch Ti and remove the anodize. It will also kill you if it gets on you and you do not inject calcium gluconate at the bone. ouch.

Bad juju. stick with mechanical removal.
 
I asked myself the same question a couple of days ago. Seems a lot of people use Whink rust remover these days. I do not know the composition, most likely there are the same deadly acids, but in a safer concentration

 
failbot said:
I asked myself the same question a couple of days ago. Seems a lot of people use Whink rust remover these days. I do not know the composition, most likely there are the same deadly acids, but in a safer concentration

Click to expand...
Whink is hydroflouric acid...it is NOT safe, or the proper etchant for titanium. Multi-etch by Reactive Metals is the ONLY stuff I recommend using.
 
Somebody here recommended the following to me years ago, and I've been using it ever since. Works well, I add water so it's slower. And if I needed, I use it to clean our airstream.

_DSC9722tn-X2.jpg


(contains Contains Hydrofluoric and Sulfuric acid - please follow instructions)
 
Seriously people, use the right stuff. A gallon of Multi-etch lasts me years doing professional anodizing...don't use hydroflouric🤦‍♂️
 
See Posts 13 & 15 above and please know what you are doing before putting your health at risk. If you are unsure, ask Chip or people who work with these chemicals routinely.
 
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